When the new 2002 Cadillac Escalade full-size sport utility vehicle goes on sale early next year, there will be no mistaking it for other SUVs.
The new Escalade abandons its “me-too” look with a bold styling inspired by the Evoq concept roadster unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in 1999. It sets a new direction, analysts said, but also risks alienating some older, loyal buyers and a younger generation attracted to European and Japanese models.
“There’s no doubt with what they did, you’re not going to mistake it for anything but an Escalade,” said Wesley Brown, analyst with Nextrend. “I think it’s a little bit too controversial to attract too many conquests (new buyers).”
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However, the automaker has to provoke some people in order to turn around its staid image, he added.
The new Escalade is scheduled to arrive in U.S. showrooms early next year, and is expected be priced close to its current starting price in the mid-$40,000s.
Cadillac is expected to finally confirm on Friday what officials have said privately for a year — that it plans to build the Evoq at its Bowling Green, Ky. plant where the Chevrolet Corvette is also made.
The two-seater, GM’s first since the short-lived Allante was discontinued in 1992, will have a body made of composite plastic, similar to the Corvette, rather than the aluminum shown on the Evoq concept.
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By GlobalDataSimilar to the Evoq, the new Escalade features a prominent egg-crate grill, vertical headlights and taillights, and sharp, diamond-like edges.
General Motors Corp.’s Cadillac division was caught flat-footed when arch-rival Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln brand introduced the Navigator in the summer of 1997 and its sales promptly soared.
Spurred by Lincoln and lured by profits as high as $10,000 to $20,000 for each premium-priced people hauler, Cadillac discarded its initial reluctance to enter the SUV market.
GM launched the Escalade in October, 1998, but analysts criticized the vehicle for being just a GMC Yukon Denali with a Cadillac logo, some cosmetic changes and a higher price tag.
The new Escalade separates itself from its sister SUV with the addition of a more powerful V8 engine, Stabilitrak traction control system and a new third row of seats, all wrapped in a new cutting-edge design.
Cadillac officials said some of the new touches will help the Escalade steal sales from the Navigator, which has always won the battle for customers at the dealerships.
For the first time, the Escalade will be available in all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive, instead of just the four-wheel drive on the current model.
Cadillac officials noted that about 40 percent of sales for the Ford Navigator are on the rear-wheel drive model, a popular option in warm-weather states where snow-and ice-covered roads are not an issue.
Although GM and Ford have been squabbling in recent weeks over who will improve the gas mileage on their SUVs faster, the new Escalade takes a step backward. Cadillac officials said they expect the vehicle to get 12 miles per gallon in the city and 16 on the highway, compared to 14/17 mpg for the current model. The Navigator gets 12 mpg in the city and 17 on the highway, Ford officials said.
